What 3D Golf Biomechanics Can Do For Your Golf Swing

By editor - Posted on 16 June 2009

In my quest to get to single figures I have tried all sorts of weird and wonderful golf swing training aids, golf lessons, golf equipment and more. Recently, I was introduced to Mark Bull, a PGA qualified instructor who is currently undertaking a Masters degree in sports science of coaching.

Mark has an interest and enthusiasm for improving your golf that is hard to rival and is one of a few qualified instructors worldwide to use the latest 3D imaging technology to help golfers improve their swing. The technology allows your coach to see what the naked eye cannot see; the way your body moves in the golf swing. If you thought seeing your golf swing on video was unpleasant, just wait until you see your skeleton swing a golf club!

If you have ever injured yourself and had an MRI scan then you will understand how the technology works. The 3D Biomechanics system is like an MRI scanner for your golf swing, but the system is totally mobile, just consisting of a black-box computer, some sensors and wires and a laptop for displaying the results.

Less than 5 minutes after meeting Mark, he had carefully placed sensors on my forehead, grip, hips and chest, and had calibrated the machine for my height and weight. I soon found myself standing in a magnetic field watching my skeleton follow my movements giving me the feeling that I was starring in my own black and white horror movie.

Under the watchful eye of Mark, my skeleton and myself were soon swinging the club in relative harmony, with the system performing millions of split-second calculations to record my movements in time and space.

The 3D system sees subtle, but very often important, movements and positions in your body at address and during the swing that are difficult, even for the most experienced eyes, to perceive.

After a dozen or so shots, Mark stopped me and gave my skeleton a rest, and showed us the output from the system.

Mark then took me through a graphical and easy-to-follow report showing where I was at every stage of my swing and whether I was inside or outside the corridor of acceptability. This helped Mark identify one or two key problems with my setup and my swing that were having a big impact on my game.

Mark works closely with world leading golf specific physiotherapist Ramsay McMaster and between them they work with leading players such as Danny Willett and David Horsey to help them get their golf swings and bodies working in perfect harmony.He was kind enough to bring some of this experience to bear on my game and soon showed me how my body position at address and during the swing was compromising my ability to strike the ball consistently well.

Mark did not get into any swing technicalities at all; he simply showed me that my backside stuck out too much at address and that my right hip was actually higher than my left hip at address.

The latter point in particular was a revelation, for I knew what the correct position was and in fact felt that my right hip was lower than my left. But after a short discussion whether one of my legs was shorter than the other, Mark proved to me that I was physically making compensations and probably had an underlying physical imbalance that needed treatment.

Mark was proved to be spot on. A couple of weeks later a session with the excellent and knowledgeable osteopath Stephen Tongue, at the Maris Practice in Twickenham, identified the problem. An old ankle injury was causing a chain of compensations up the body leading to sore shins, tight hip flexors, lower and upper back stiffness and lack of mobility.

Mark told me that the problems at address contributed to a poor turn away from the ball (as I was not setup behind it at address), an inability to take the club away on-line (as my right hip would lock-up), and a loss of height and incorrect sequencing in the downswing (as I was unable to retain the spine angles set at address). He also pointed out that I used my upper body too much to compensate for the lack of rotation and function in my lower back and hip area.

Fortunately, all was not lost, and Mark soon prescribed some simple exercises to help me get my body back into the right position; one of which was essentially a pelvic thrust.

He showed me where I should be at address, and then got me back on the 3D system to train my body using bio-feedback so that I could quickly feel the correct position. The machine sounded an audible beep when I attained and stayed in the right position, and within a matter of minutes I could feel and re-create the right position without any help from Mark or the machine.

This bio-feedback speeds up the learning process and is completely configurable to the individual and the different positions in the golf swing.

In my opinion, the benefit of this approach over any other form of coaching is; you can immediately feel where you need to be; you can develop a routine or movement that helps you find the correct position and you can check audibly throughout the swing motion. Believe me when I say you will see immediate results.

3D Golf Biomechanics is the ultimate lie detector

One 45 minute session has helped identify and resolve physical conditions that were inhibiting my golf swing and my quality of life; and through the use of its bio-feedback mechanism the 3D system and Mark Bulls’ expert coaching has helped me rapidly make the necessary changes to the position of my body at address and during the swing that were holding me back.

A few weeks later and I am striking the ball longer and straighter than ever. I am also in much better shape physically which is almost as important as the golf!

3 consecutive rounds playing to 1 under my handicap and a marked improvement in my confidence in my golf swing lead me to the conclusion that I’ll be visiting Mark Bull regularly.

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